Press "Enter" to skip to content

LAST SNOWSTORM BEFORE SUMMER? Of course it might snow then as well (although it’s increasingly rare), but no more is forecast in Longyearbyen during the last week of spring

0 0
Read Time:1 Minute, 16 Second

Freakish early- and mid-June heat waves are being felt across the globe – including 50°C (122°F) in the Middle East and record temperatures near that the southwest United States – but locals in Longyearbyen found themselves brushing snow off their windshields Monday during what might be the last snowstorm before summer.

snowworkers
Yes, this is idyllic near-summer weather for these and many other construction workers in Longyearbyen, given that they were working outdoors on numerous large-scale business and residential structures throughout the winter. Photo by Mark Sabbatini / Icepeople.

Not that this means no more snow until fall – although summer snow is increasingly rare during the past decade as temperatures have risen due to climate change. But the Norwegian Meteorological Institute forecast calls for temperatures a few degrees above zero and scant precipitation during the last week of spring before summer starts next Monday.

A thoughtful soul kindly wrapped a scarf around the statuesque coal miner in the town square as the surrounding mountains and muddy flatlands turned white, although those beyond the near horizon were invisible behind a cloud of white.

The storm occurred a few days after The Governor of Svalbard finally declared enough snow has melted in the mountains above Nybyen that it is now OK to use a snowmobile/ski trail that was closed more than two months ago. An evacuation of buildings along the mountainside was also ordered at the same time, although that order was lifted two weeks ago.

About Post Author

Mark Sabbatini

I'm a professional transient living on a tiny Norwegian island next door to the North Pole, where once a week (or thereabouts) I pollute our extreme and pristine environment with paper fishwrappers decorated with seemingly random letters that would cause a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters to die of humiliation. Such is the wisdom one acquires after more than 25 years in the world's second-least-respected occupation, much of it roaming the seven continents in search of jazz, unrecognizable street food and escorts I f****d with by insisting they give me the platonic tours of their cities promised in their ads. But it turns out this tiny group of islands known as Svalbard is my True Love and, generous contributions from you willing, I'll keep littering until they dig my body out when my climate-change-deformed apartment collapses or they exile my penniless ass because I'm not even worthy of washing your dirty dishes.
Happy
Happy
0 %
Sad
Sad
0 %
Excited
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
Angry
0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 %

Average Rating

5 Star
0%
4 Star
0%
3 Star
0%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%